After a brief stint at donning the Captain Canada suit…

Doug the Thug is back!

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is congratulating a Vaughan resident who shot an intruder, saying he should have fired more shots at him. 

“As for the person that was defending his family, he was a legal gun owner, stored properly — congratulations. Yeah, I’m glad you shot the guy. Teach the rest of these robbers,” Ford said at an unrelated news conference Wednesday when asked about the incident. 

He added, “These guys, they need to be shot, as far as I’m concerned. They’re coming through the front door to hurt your family.”

“Congratulations for shooting this guy — should have shot him a couple more times as far as I’m concerned,” Ford said, after being asked about the incident at an unrelated news conference Wednesday.

Ford went on in his response to attack the federal government for “going after legal, law-abiding gun owners,” as well as “weak-kneed judges” who are letting people out on bail. Police say the accused in this case was on probation at the time.

“They always want to protect the bad guys, the judges always want to protect the Charter rights — how about the charter of rights of the people, to keep them safe rather than always protecting these criminals,” Ford said. “I’m just sick and tired of it.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has acknowledged his government is clamping down on access to information laws to shield government-related calls he makes and receives on his personal phone.

The province is in the process of overhauling how freedom of information works in Ontario to retroactively exempt all calls and texts from the premier, his cabinet and their staff from public scrutiny.

The Order of Canada is one of Canada’s highest honours and is awarded in recognition of exceptional achievements, extraordinary contributions to the nation or remarkable dedication to a community.

The motto of the Order, DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM, translates to “They desire a better country.”

The Order of Canada is administered through an independent advisory council. Each of the six to eight hundred nominations submitted each year , by any person or organization, is received by the order’s Advisory Council, which, along with the governor general, makes the final choice of new inductees.

The federal Conservatives petition to award the Order of Canada to controversial hockey commentator Don Cherry.

Prime Minister Carney’s office mum on Conservative Order of Canada petition for Don Cherry

Conservative Order of Canada Petition

Don Cherry, who according to the Conservative Party’s Order of Canada petition—with the full support of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre—“embodies what it means to be a proud Canadian,” describes Cherry as having a “candid and unapologetic style reflects a spirit of authenticity and independence that resonated with millions of Canadians.” and according to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith , “Don Cherry is a Canadian icon, a hockey legend and is loved by Albertans. He’s not just one of the greats; his word and opinion about our national sport is still treated as hockey gospel by millions of Canadians.”

So this is the Canadian icon who

https://open.substack.com/pub/eamenard/p/poilievres-own-goal?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Excerpted from the article:

” compared the name of the Finnish coach of the Winnipeg Jets to dog food; referred to the wars in the Balkans as “Lower Slobovia attacking Slimea”; declared that players who wear visors are “sucks” and that most of them are “Europeans and French guys”; called French-Canadian flag bearer Jean-Luc Brassard “some ski guy that nobody knows about”; told French Canadians they were not “true Canadians” for opposing the Iraq War, singling out Habs fans for booing the American anthem and adding: “You have to realize it’s Quebec and it’s French Canadians.”.

When Ron MacLean raised the question of whether First Nations kids get a fair shake in life, Cherry cut him off: “Fair shake in life? Go out and get your own fair shake in life and work for it.” In 1992, he called Manon Rhéaume’s historic appearance as the first woman to play in an NHL game “a PR stunt” and said women “should stick to women’s hockey.” He said women reporters did not belong in hockey dressing rooms.

He has spent decades championing the law of talion on ice — that every act of violence deserves an equal and opposite response — celebrating enforcers, glorifying retribution, and dismissing the medical evidence on brain trauma as an inconvenience to the natural order of the game, going so far as to call former enforcers who courageously spoke out about brain trauma “pukes,” “turncoats,” and “hypocrites.”

This is the man Pierre Poilievre says embodies Canadian pride.

Court Painter & Tomahawk Pete

Pentagon bans Court Painter over ‘unflattering’ paintings of Secretary of War-mongering Pete ‘Tomahawk’ Hegseth:

Court Painter, a noted celebrity portraitist, is no longer permitted to paint portraits inside the Pentagon press briefing room after displaying “unflattering” portraits of Secretary of War-mongering Pete ‘Tomahawk’ Hegseth.

Members of Hegseth’s staff reportedly told anyone who would listen that they did not like the way the War-mongering secretary looked.

A Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement that in order to use the briefing room “effectively,” Court Painter would be expected to remove his paint kit, easel, smock, and paint rags from the premises and promise not to return. The spokesperson added that past portrait images from the briefings were immediately released online for the public and press to use but no more. If the expulsion hurts Court Painter’s business model, he should consider applying for a Pentagon Hand-Painting Portrait credential—a permit that further requires approval for release from the Secretary of War-mongering Pete ‘Tomahawk’ Hegseth.

Court Painter instead left Washington for Edmonton Alberta to catch the opening of John Will: Born in the U.F.O a 60 year retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Court Painter’s recent Tomahawk Pete series

Dominant Force: Speculation and trading in the futures market are a primary driver of overall oil prices.

Futures markets significantly influence oil prices by acting as a mechanism for price discovery, risk management, and speculative investment. While long-term prices are primarily driven by physical supply and demand, futures markets frequently drive short-term price movements and can sometimes disconnect from physical reality.

Source: ScienceDirect

How to deal with oil shocks and the inflation problem | WONK with Amanda Lang

Public Policy Forum and Amanda Lang

Most Canadians are still adjusting to the inflation that has settled across our economy from the last big geopolitical disruptions. Now a new one threatens to send prices higher again. Jim Stanford is the director of the Centre for Future Work and one of Canada’s most prominent economists. He talks to host Amanda Lang about the far-reaching impact of energy prices, social capital and leaning into Canada’s strengths.

Breaking News: March 10/26

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston announces reinstating $53.6 million in grants and funding to support people with disabilities, seniors and education initiatives for 2026-27.

Notably, there’s no restoration of art funding as Tim’s hand on heart governing rule was cold & dead for the arts.

The Nova Scotia government’s “Multi-Year Fiscal Stability Plan” calls for further cuts to the provincial budget for each of the next four years, to nearly a billion dollars in the 2029/30 budget year. That also reflects a cut of about 20% of the current provincial workforce.

The government hopes to achieve these reductions by increasing productivity and efficiency, in part through the use of artificial intelligence.

Some $4.4 million is budgeted “to develop and deploy artificial intelligence enabled applications.” The Examiner asked what that means exactly, and was told that the money would be used to build in-house expertise and train staff on how to use AI, mainly with Microsoft Office AI tools.

News Content Source: The Halifax Examiner

Premier Tim can’t find it in his heart to restore Nova Scotia arts & culture funding cuts.

Shape without form, shade without colour.  
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

The eyes are not here  
There are no eyes here  
In this valley of dying stars  
In this hollow valley 
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms

Poetry passages from “The Hollow Men” a poem by the modernist writer T. S. Eliot.

Al Jazeera investigation raises questions over deadliest single attack of war on Iran that killed 165 schoolgirls and staff on February 28/26.

Published On 3 Mar 2026

https://aje.news/01xdaf

Scene of elementary school after attack on a school February 28 in Minab, Iran

Excerpt:

The attackers’ ability to spare newly established adjacent facilities (such as the Martyr Absalan clinic) and their glaring failure to avoid an elementary school operating at full capacity and packed with 170 girls leaves us with two scenarios, both unequivocally condemnatory:

Either US and Israeli forces relied, in striking the vicinity of the Asif Brigade, on a very old, outdated intelligence target bank (dating to before 2013), which would constitute grave negligence and reckless disregard for civilian lives; or the strike was carried out deliberately and with prior knowledge to inflict maximum societal shock and undermine popular support for Iran’s military establishment.

Meanwhile: Reported today, March 4/26

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PETE HEGSETH

BBC STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT TOM BATEMAN: Can you give us an update on what the administration knows, what you know now about the reported strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran on Saturday?

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PETE HEGSETH: All I know, all I can say is that we’re investigating that. We of course never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that.

BBC STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT TOM BATEMAN: Just on the basis that with the information you would have your reconnaissance abilities– ability to gather information. I mean, it’s several days on now.

So is there any clarity on whose munition this was?

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PETE HEGSETH: We’re investigating it.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump

“Blood Moon” is a descriptive phrase for a total lunar eclipse that takes place during the full moon. The reddish color is a result of the scattering of sunlight through the earth’s atmosphere, similar to what happens during sunsets that appear red.

It is said the ancient Incans and Mesopotamians believed a blood moon was an omen portending the king’s death or overthrow; some Native American tribes viewed it as a sign that the moon needed care; while Islamic cultures regard the phenomenon as a time for special prayers.

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1507. It was also the 4th day of the most recent Israel/USA war with Iran.

After the initial wave of U.S. and Israeli attacks, videos circulated showing the aftermath of an airstrike that struck a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran, including harrowing images of families screaming and searching through the rubble of the collapsed building. According to state-run IRNA news outlet, the attack on a girls’ elementary school in Minab, a city in southern Iran, killed at least 60 students. Many more students were reportedly trapped beneath the debris; approximately 170 girls were inside the school at the time.

Within hours of bombs hitting cities across Iran, Tehran unleashed a series of ballistic missile and drone strikes aimed at Israel and U.S. military facilities across the Persian Gulf, as well as in Jordan. Iran targeted U.S. assets in Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq.

Source: Drop Site News Feb 28/26

‘Acts of War Unauthorized by Congress’: Thomas Massie (R) Condemns Trump’s Iran Strikes.Massie labeled the strikes unauthorized acts of war and pushed war powers legislation to block escalation. Rand Paul (R)questioned both the constitutional authority and the strategic wisdom of expanding hostilities without Congress.

An unprovoked attempt at regime change in collaboration with Israel, with no legal foundation, launched in the midst of diplomatic efforts to avert conflict, and with minimal consultation with Congress or the American public.

In violation of International law UN Charter Article 2(4): The fundamental rule prohibiting the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state

Canada backs U.S. 

“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security,” reads a joint statement from Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand. 

Canada believes the Islamic Republic of Iran is the “principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East.” 

The letter also highlights the 256 Iranian entities and 222 individuals whom Canada has levied already sanctions against. It also mentions Israel, which joined the U.S. in its attack – “Canada reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and to ensure the security of its people.”

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre also said he supports the U.S., Israel, and allied countries across the region to “defend their sovereignty and dismantle the clerical military dictatorship of Iran,” he wrote on X.

Source CTV News Feb 28/26

BLAH BLAH BLAH

Ireland Makes Basic Income Program for Artists Permanent

After a successful pilot, artists will be paid hundreds of euros weekly over three years.

The Irish government will give 2,000 artists unrestricted weekly stipends, following a successful three-year basic income pilot program.

“Ireland can become a world leader through this unique scheme that ultimately benefits the whole of society through supporting our continued artistic excellence on the world stage,” the NCFA committee said.

Source: Hyperallergic Feb 24/26

MEANWHILE:

Arts and culture in Nova Scotia left reeling from ‘unprecedented’ cuts by provincial government.

Nova Scotia Premier Houston initiates major cuts to the province’s arts & culture sectors.

Nearly half of all Nova Scotia Museum sites closed.

Of 287 cuts, more than 70 are in the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. They include an end to the Publishers Assistance Program, which paid out $700,000 a year, the Artists in Communities program ($203,000), and the Arts Nova Scotia Artists in Schools program ($135,000). 

Operating grants to arts organizations were cut by 30%, and the Community Assistance Program for museums goes from $100,000 to $50,000.

Source: Halifax Examiner Feb 25/26